Port of Entry - GREAT Experience!

[JeeplessInSeattle 1]

We just brought my fiance over through his Port of Entry (from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles, WA) on Saturday and it was unbelievable how smoothly it went. I was with him (I helped him pack and move) for his entry interview. They pretty much just breezed through his packet, asked a few questions related to forms they still had to fill out, printed him, and then joked around with us. I think it helped that I was a former police officer because once they found that out, we ended up having conversations about police work, the training of rookies (which I related to since I was a field training officer who trained rookie cops) and use of K9's in law enforcement (which I also used to do). So perhaps that connection is what made things go so smoothly--I am just guessing.

We were completely exhausted and in intense physical pain from the move (both my fiance and I are disabled due to work related back injuries) but we knew we faced the inspection with U.S. Customs once our ferry arrived in the states (in Port Angeles, WA). My fiance was up ahead of me and driving the big U-haul while I was driving his vehicle (which we knew we needed to import). As I exited the ferry and drove up to customs, I didn't see the U-haul anywhere! I fully expected that they would be opening it up and examining everything and that we might be there for a few hours. We were very careful to NOT bring over any fruit, vegetables, alcohol, or plants in soil and we had made a VERY detailed inventory list of every boxed item that we were hauling. But here's how my fiance's entry went:

U.S. Customs Officer: "What is your citizenship or reason for entering the country?"

Fiance: "I'm a Canadian citizen, I've been approved for my K1 visa, and I am moving my belongings into the states."

U.S. Customs Officer: "What do you have in the U-haul? Is it just personal household items?"

Fiance: "Yes."

U.S. Customs Officer: "OK, go on through, have a good night."

Fiance: "Wait a minute! My fiance is behind me and is driving my Ford Explorer. They said we need to import it?"

U.S. Customes Officer: "Oh, well she can pull over and come into the office over there and fill out the paper work."

Needless to say, we were amused that my fiance was WAVED THROUGH and that I (the American citizen) WAS THE ONE who got pulled over into the U.S. Customs office! But after giving them my driver's license and filling out a form, we were on our way. It was beyond anything we expected--even easier than the times we've been grilled coming across the border on visits or the time we transported a "suspicious farmer sausage" that resulted in an hour-long delay and meeting with an agriculture officer to get it approved.

The icing on the cake was that the same day that my fiance got moved into our new home was the same day that my team, the San Francisco Giants (baseball) won the World Series. We truly have been blessed and we look forward to our upcoming wedding, set for Friday November 30th. I just want to encourage those out there who are on their own visa journey to HAVE HOPE! Good things DO come to those who wait!!

[PhilC 5]

Congras

[Pitaya 2,577]

Congratulations!!!

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Good luck on your immgration journey.